Williamson Legacy Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS)

Williamson Legacy Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Cintas Co. (NASDAQ:CTAS) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Williamson Legacy Group LLC’s holdings in Cintas were worth $827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 299.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,555,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,996,697,000 after acquiring an additional 10,910,285 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 297.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,807,860,000 after acquiring an additional 6,571,128 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cintas by 309.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,248,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,693,654,000 after acquiring an additional 6,235,052 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Cintas by 264.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,279,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $693,503,000 after buying an additional 2,379,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Cintas by 308.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,522,921 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $519,419,000 after buying an additional 1,904,926 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Cintas from $240.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Cintas in a research report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Cintas in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Cintas from $191.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Cintas from $236.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $199.79.

Cintas Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CTAS opened at $207.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $197.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.68. Cintas Co. has a 12-month low of $154.15 and a 12-month high of $228.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The business services provider reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.08. Cintas had a return on equity of 40.62% and a net margin of 17.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.56 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Cintas Co. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Cintas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Cintas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.59%.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms and related business services primarily in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other segments. The company rents and services uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items; and provides restroom cleaning services and supplies, as well as sells uniforms.